The Cost of Desire
by October Star
Summary: Esmeralda falls for the handsome vampire, Naveen. But when two other vampires threaten them, what she thought would be an epic romance, turns into a horror story.
1. Chapter 1

_A/N: I wrote this for a creative writing class. It was a completely original story, so I posted it on fiction press, but it the categories on that site are too broad and it eventually go lost among the other stories. So, I decided to change the characters to Disney characters and post it on here. It's kinda long, so I split it up into a couple chapters. I hope you enjoy it._

Esmeralda pulled her car into the cemetery driveway, then slowed to a stop. She left her headlights on so she could see through the dark. It did little good. The rain poured hard, and though her windshield wipers were moving frantically to get rid of the water, it was impossible to see. Esmeralda trusted that no one would see her. Nobody in their right mind would be in the cemetery at two o'clock in the morning, and there was nothing for five miles from the cemetery, except one house. It sat on top of a hill about fifty yards on the other side of the fence. It had been abandoned almost twenty years, so Esmeralda wasn't worried about anyone in the house seeing her.

Esmeralda put her CD in the player, skipped to the track she wanted, then turned the volume up as high as it would go. She got out of the car and walked to the front of it. She left her door open so she would be able to hear the music. Esmeralda closed her eyes and concentrated on the music and the rain. She let the melody of the song take over her emotions and danced to the rhythm of the raindrops hitting her body. Within a few seconds, Esmeralda was completely soaked. The skirt of her dress flowed around her legs as she spun, but the rest of it clung to her. Esmeralda didn't notice the water or her dress. She focused only on the music. Soon she was lost in a dream, in her own little fantasy.

It was cut short, however, when the music suddenly stopped. Startled, Esmeralda stumbled, but caught herself before she could fall. She let out a sigh and walked around to the side of the car. She stopped short when she saw someone standing next to her car.

"Oh. I'm sorry," Esmeralda said. "I didn't know someone else was here."

They stepped forward so they were in the path of the headlights. Esmeralda's breath caught in her throat and her eyes grew wide. He looked only to be a year or two older than her. With curly brown hair that fell just over his dark eyes, and skin that was a pale tan, Esmeralda couldn't help but stare. He was easily the most beautiful man she had ever seen. Esmeralda tried to smile at him or say something else, but she couldn't make her brain, or her mouth, cooperate.

"I didn't mean to scare you," he apologized.

"It's okay. I'm just gonna get going." Esmeralda moved to walk around him, but he stepped in front of her. "Can I help you with something?"

"I just moved into that house up there about a week ago," he said pointing to the house Esmeralda had thought was abandoned. "And every night I've seen you out here dancing. So I have to ask: who dances in a cemetery at two o'clock in the morning?"

Esmeralda started to feel uneasy knowing that someone had been watching her every night for the last week.

"Look, I don't know you, and I would really like it if you would let me leave," she stated.

"I'm sorry that I creeped you out. That wasn't my intention. I wouldn't have been watching you every night, except that I find you-and your dancing- really beautiful."

Esmeralda smiled in spite of herself. "Well, thanks."

"Tonight, however, you were absolutely enchanting," he continued. "It was as if you had completely surrendered yourself to your body and the music. I knew that if I didn't come and introduce myself I would regret it forever." He held out his hand. "I'm Naveen."

Esmeralda stared at him for a second, then hesitantly shook his hand. "Esmeralda."

Naveen repeated her name, then gave her a half smile. Esmeralda's knees threatened to give out on her at the sight of his smile. He had perfect, white teeth and a smile that would make any girl melt.

"This may be a little forward, but I wonder, Esmeralda, if you would let me have the honor of dancing with you?" Naveen asked.

Unable to form any words, Esmeralda just nodded. Naveen slowly pulled her closer to him. Esmeralda realized that she had been so distracted that she had never let go of his hand. Naveen put his other hand on Esmeralda's lower back and pulled her body close to his until they were pressed against each other. Esmeralda could feel his heart beating and started moving to the rhythm of it.

Naveen looked down at Esmeralda, completely losing himself in her. The sound of her heartbeat, the smell of the blood pulsing through her veins, her exposed neck all overwhelmed him. He fought, with all of his strength, against the urge to lower his mouth to her bare neck and taste the blood that was taunting him. To distract himself, Naveen focused on keeping in time with Esmeralda's dance.

Esmeralda's heart pounded in her chest and she was having a difficult time trying to breathe. She was finding it very hard to believe this was all really happening. She wished the night would last forever. That she and Naveen could stay just as they were.

"I am unbelievingly staggered by you," Naveen whispered as he gently pulled away. "But unfortunately I must leave now.

Esmeralda nodded, knowing it was too good to last. "Good night, then," she said. She walked passed him and went to get in her car.

Naveen reached out and took her hand. "Please come back tomorrow night, Esmeralda."

"I'll try," she responded.

"I will wait for you all night." Naveen gave her one last smile, then headed back to his house.

Esmeralda watched him walk away, then got in her car and drove off.


	2. Chapter 2

The next couple weeks, Esmeralda met with Naveen every night. Their dancing became as in tense as Esmeralda's feelings for Naveen and Naveen's desire for Esmeralda. Unfortunately, however, nothing came of either. Naveen could never stay with Esmeralda for long in fear that his temptation and instinct would take over him. Esmeralda started thinking the dancing was all Naveen cared about. But Naveen proved her wrong last night when he asked her to meet him at his house for dinner. So, now Esmeralda was sitting in her car, in Naveen's driveway, trying to calm the butterflies in her stomach.

Naveen saw Esmeralda pull up and went on to the front porch to wait for her. Esmeralda awkwardly got out of her car while trying to keep the skirt of her dress down. She closed the door, then straightened her dress. When Naveen got a good look at Esmeralda, his heart began to race. She was wearing a red halter dress that hugged every curve and only came down to mid-thigh. Esmeralda smiled shyly as she walked up the porch steps. As soon as she was standing in front of him, Naveen pulled her head to his and kissed her. He wrapped his other arm around her waist and held her against him so she couldn't move. Esmeralda gripped his shirt and kissed him back with as much force and passion as she could. When they finally pulled apart, Esmeralda just stood there, slightly stunned and in a daze. Naveen took her hand and they went inside.

"I'm sorry about that," Naveen said.

Esmeralda bit her lip. "Don't be sorry."

Naveen smiled at her as he led her into the dining room. The room was dimly lit by two candles on the table. As Esmeralda sat down, she noticed pink and red rose petals sprinkled across the table top.

"Let me get the dinner," Naveen said, then he disappeared into the kitchen. A few minutes later he returned with two plates of lasagna. He set them on the table, and sat down.

"How is it?" Naveen asked after Esmeralda had taken a couple bites.

"It's really good." Esmeralda noticed Naveen hadn't even touched his dinner. She suddenly felt self conscious. "Aren't you gonna eat?"

"I'm not really hungry," Naveen replied.

"Oh." Esmeralda put her fork down. "Well, I don't feel comfortable eating with you…watching me."

"Would it be better if we had a conversation?"

Esmeralda nodded. "Sure. What do want to talk about?"

Naveen gave Esmeralda a half smile. "You."

"Me?"

Naveen shrugged. "Yeah."

"Okay." Esmeralda picked up her fork and started picking at her food. "What do you wanna know?"

"How about, why you dance in a cemetery in the middle of the night?"

Esmeralda ran a hand through her hair. "Oh. Um…my brother is buried there."

"I'm sorry, Esmeralda. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Clopin and I were really close. We used to dance together." Esmeralda smiled to herself. "Man, he was an amazing dancer. So talented, ya know. One night he was driving home for spring break. He was so excited to teach me a new dance he learned." Esmeralda's face grew dark and she looked down at her hands. "Clopin was hit head on by a car full of stupid, drunk kids. One kid got a broken leg, another had a minor concussion, and that was it. Clopin died thirty minutes after arriving at the hospital."

Naveen reached over and took Esmeralda's hand. He could see she was fighting to keep the tears back.

"Esmeralda, if I had known, I wouldn't have asked. I'm sorry."

Esmeralda shook her head. "The really screwed up part is the hospital called my mom. My mom was in Europe on business and was too 'busy' to call me. I found out from Clopin's girlfriend two days later. I haven't talked to my mom since."

"How long ago did it happen?" Naveen asked.

"Almost a year ago." Esmeralda rolled her arm over. On her wrist was a small tattoo of a butterfly. "He called me his butterfly. Although, I don't know why."

Naveen ran his finger over Esmeralda's tattoo. "Probably because you're as graceful and as beautiful as a butterfly."

Esmeralda smiled. She started to reply, but realized Naveen was staring at something behind her. His face was suddenly full of concern and anger. Esmeralda turned around but there was nothing there. She looked back at him. He was now staring at her with the same look on his face.

"Naveen? Naveen, is something wrong?" Esmeralda asked.

Naveen stood up and said, "I think you should leave."

_"What?_" Esmeralda cried.

Naveen didn't seem to hear her. He took her hands and pulled her up. He led her to the front door and opened it for her.

Esmeralda just stood there. "Naveen, what the hell is going on?"

"I'm sorry, Esmeralda. Can you come back tomorrow night?"

"You're kicking me out, being totally and randomly rude, and you're asking me to…_come back_…tomorrow? I don't understand."

"Please, Esmeralda." Naveen gave her a little push out the door.

Esmeralda looked confused and hurt, but walked to her car anyway. Naveen watched her back out of the driveway and waited until she was completely out of sight before he went back inside and closed the door.

"Vanessa!" Naveen called out.

Suddenly a beautiful, young woman appeared in front of him. She had straight black hair and cold eyes that matched. She smiled seductively at Naveen, but he just glared at her.

"What are you doing here, Vanessa?" Naveen demanded.

"I've been watching you, Naveen," Vanessa replied. "You and Esmeralda."

Naveen lunged at Vanessa, but she moved too quickly and he stumbled through the air. He straightened up and looked around for Vanessa. Her high-pitched laugh rang out from upstairs. Naveen ran up after her and found her in his room. She was lying on her stomach, on his bed, tracing invisible patterns on his sheet.

"You leave Esmeralda alone!" Naveen snapped.

Vanessa sat up. "It's not up to me, love. And you know that."

"Why are you here?" Naveen asked.

"I saw you and Esmeralda together in the cemetery about a week ago. I told Gaston and he said to keep an eye on the two of you, to find out what was going on." Vanessa explained. "But after that kiss tonight, I think it's very clear what's going on."

"You've got it all wrong, Vanessa."

"Do I?" Vanessa nodded. "You better hope I do, baby. If I don't, Gaston _will_ come after your pretty Esmeralda."

"Vanessa, please don't."

Vanessa stood up and walked over to Naveen. "We're very different-her and us. Our worlds should not collide, Naveen. It's why we have the rules that we do."

"Hasn't anyone ever tried breaking the rules?"

"Of course. But the humans don't live to tell the tales."

Naveen's eyes grew wide. "Isn't there anything you can do to help her out?"

Vanessa laughed. "I would never do anything to help a human."

"Vanessa-"

"You better think about what's really important, Naveen. Time may be running out for Esmeralda." With that, Vanessa jumped out the window and disappeared.


	3. Chapter 3

When Esmeralda got home, she immediately put on her pajamas and got into bed. She lied awake for about an hour thinking about what had happened with Naveen that night. At first she thought she had scared him off by getting too personal too quickly. But then he invited her to come back the next night. Esmeralda wasn't entirely sure she wanted to go back and see him after he had been so rude, but decided she would go to at least give him a chance to explain.

When Esmeralda did eventually fall asleep, she had a very strange dream:

Esmeralda was being chased down a very long hallway. She kept trying to lose whoever was after her, but the hallway had no doors or turns. Up in the distance she could see a man, standing there and watching her as if he was waiting for her. Esmeralda knew that if she could just make it to the man, she would be okay. When she was a couple feet away from him, she stopped. Esmeralda did not know him, but was very relieved to see him. She couldn't help but stare at his eyes. They were a deep reddish-purple. They both intrigued and terrified her at the same time. The man outstretched his arms and Esmeralda walked towards him. He wrapped his arms around her and she leaned her forehead against his chest.

"Join me, Esmeralda, I will give you what you want most," the man said.

"Who are you?" Esmeralda asked looking up at him.

"My name is Gaston," he replied. "Will you join me?"

Esmeralda nodded. The next thing she knew, she was kneeling next to the body of the person who had been chasing her, and she had a funny taste in her mouth. She didn't know what it was she tasted, but she was craving more of it. Esmeralda turned the body over to see who it was, and let out a scream. It was Naveen and he had two puncture holes in his neck. Esmeralda covered her mouth with her hand to keep from screaming again. She stood up and faced Gaston.

"What did you do?" she cried. "I just wanted to stop whoever was chasing me. I didn't want anybody to be killed. Especially Naveen!"

"He was the one who was after you. He was trying to stop you from getting to me, sweet Esmeralda."

"But why did you _kill_ him?"

"I didn't." Gaston grabbed her wrist and showed her the hand she used to cover her mouth. Her palm was covered in blood.

Esmeralda raised her other hand to her mouth. She ran her finger over her teeth and realized her canines had grown into fangs. She pulled her hand back and saw her finger had blood on it.

"You're a vampire now, Esmeralda," Gaston said. "Naveen was nothing but a human. Vampires and humans cannot be together. The human must die."

"No!" Esmeralda cried as she jolted awake. She immediately checked her teeth, but there was no blood or fangs.

:::::VV:::::VV:::::VV:::::

The next night Esmeralda met Naveen at his house like he had asked her to. They both sat awkwardly at the table. Naveen watched Esmeralda pick at her food. She stared at her plate, careful not to make eye contact. Naveen thought back to the first night he had seen Esmeralda. It was the grace of her body that had first intrigued him, but it was the romance of her dance that hypnotized him. The combination of her body and the dance was what kept him coming back to the window every night. Until he realized he couldn't just watch her forever.

Esmeralda looked over at Naveen. The candle light reflected off his pale skin, making it appear as if he were glowing. Like an angel. Suddenly, her dream came flooding back with the image of Naveen lying dead and bleeding at her feet. Esmeralda noticed that Naveen was staring at her, but she could tell he wasn't really seeing her.

"You need to leave," Naveen said. "Now."

"_Again?_ Naveen, what is going on?" Esmeralda demanded. "I'm not leaving without an explanation."

"There's no time. Just trust me on this."

Esmeralda shook her head in disbelief and stood up. She started to head for the door, when someone appeared in front of her. He grabbed her by the shoulders. Esmeralda's stomach became sick as she stared in to his reddish-purple eyes. It was Gaston-the vampire from her dream. Gaston spun Esmeralda around so she was facing Naveen, but didn't let go of her.

"You're right, Naveen. There is no more time," Gaston said.

Naveen was instantly in front of Esmeralda. He pried Gaston's hands off her and threw him against the wall. Esmeralda immediately ran to the door. She flung it open and saw that it had started raining. She ducked her head and went outside. The raindrops hit her hard as she ran to her car. Esmeralda slid to a stop when she saw Gaston leaning against her car. She turned to run in the opposite direction, but he grabbed her from behind.

Naveen ran outside. "Gaston! Leave her alone!"

"You were both warned last night." Esmeralda could feel Gaston's hot breath on the back of her neck as he spoke. "Time is up for her."

Esmeralda's blood ran cold. "Oh, God."

Gaston ran his hands down Esmeralda's arms and wrapped his hands tightly around her wrists. She tried to get away, but he was too strong. Naveen slowly approached them, not taking his eyes off Gaston. He stopped a couple inches away from Esmeralda. He gently ran his fingers over her hand and looked down at her.

"Naveen, please tell me what's going on," Esmeralda begged.

"You know what's happening, sweet Esmeralda. I told you last night," Gaston whispered in her ear. "Only the roles are reversed."

"Gaston-don't!" Naveen demanded.

"Bleed for me, pretty Esmeralda," Gaston said.

Esmeralda screamed in horror as her wrist started to bleed. Naveen's body tensed and he quickly moved away from her. Gaston brought Esmeralda's wrist up to his mouth and licked the blood. She tried pulling away with all of her strength and he finally let go. Esmeralda fell to the ground and wiped her arm on her jeans, desperately trying to stop the bleeding. But the blood kept coming.

"Please make it stop," Esmeralda cried.

Gaston ignored her. "Esmeralda _is_ going to die, Naveen. Either she will bleed to death, or you can kill her yourself and put her out of her misery."

Gaston disappeared and Naveen carefully walked towards Esmeralda. She closed her eyes and started to cry as she waited for the pain to come. Instead, Naveen wrapped his arms around her, lifted her up and carried her upstairs to his room. He laid her down on the bed, then grabbed a small towel out of the closet. Naveen sat down next to her, but she sat up and tried to move away from him.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Esmeralda." Naveen took her hand and tied the towel around her wrist to stop the bleeding. "Just lay down. You're going to be okay."

Esmeralda lied down and pulled the blanket over herself. Naveen smiled down at her. She felt like she was going to be sick at the sight of his fangs.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Esmeralda asked.

Naveen's smile faded. "I didn't want to scare you."

"Now I'm scared _and_ angry. You knowingly put me in danger by keeping this secret from me."

"Esmeralda, I'm sorry. I didn't think anyone would find out," Naveen apologized. "I knew every night that I saw you what _could_ happen. But it was too hard for me to stay away. I really cared about you and I started developing feelings for you."

"No!" Esmeralda snapped. "Vampires are incapable if feeling anything. They have no soul…"

"Esmeralda, I love you."

"…and no heart."

"Esmeralda-"

"Leave me alone, Naveen," Esmeralda interrupted.

Naveen hesitated for a second, but then left the room. Esmeralda lifted her arm and took the towel off. It had stopped bleeding and she could see there was only a very small cut. As horrifying as the night had been, it felt so surreal to Esmeralda. She knew that once she got home she would be able to convince herself it never happened. Esmeralda closed her eyes to gather her strength so she could get up and leave. She took a deep breath and opened her eyes. Esmeralda let out a scream when she saw Gaston sitting on the bed, looking down at her. She sat up to run, but he grabbed her arms. Gaston smiled at Esmeralda, and then lowered his teeth to her neck.

Hearing the scream, Naveen rushed back to his room. He was just in time to see Gaston lower Esmeralda's lifeless body on the bed.

"It had to happen," Gaston said. "You couldn't have saved her." With that Gaston left.

Naveen knelt down next to Esmeralda. He took her hand and gently stroked her butterfly tattoo.

"It's time to rest your wings, butterfly," Naveen whispered.

He kissed her, then pulled the blanket over. He rummaged though his drawers until he found a candle and lighter. Naveen lit the candle and held it to the blanket. Then he stepped back and watched as the fire spread over Esmeralda's body. Naveen lit the curtains in all the rooms, then went outside and said goodbye as the flames engulfed the house and flowed out of the windows. Naveen knew now that the nightmare was over. And the demon's shadow that has hovered over him was gone. His once hollow and dark world finally had light. Though the source of the light was dead, he wouldn't let it fade. With a heavy heart, Naveen turned and left the house, the night, and Esmeralda.

_**A/N: Thank you for reading! I plan on writing another Disney vampire story, but it'll be longer and have more of a story to it. In the mean time, check out my story "Rose Spell".**_

_**A special thanks to everyone who reviewed this story! :)**_


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